Ink Paintings
by ItalicsInIndigo
Summary: A collection of short stories involving various characters, mostly with a romantic spin. Big spoilers for the books beyond the anime, also some futurefic.
1. Home

**Japanese ink paintings, or 'sumi-e', aim to simply capture the essence of the subject with the least fuss and brush strokes possible. I thought that was a little reminiscent of what short story writers try to do... I hope you like these small pictures of mine.**

**This particular one was written for 31days on LJ. Believe it or not, I actually got it up there on time for once. :D**

**Theme: No Place Like Home (11 0ct. 08)**

* * *

**Home**

"Five hundred years co-ruling one of the world's most prospeous nations," he growled, "and yet I'm still the delivery boy."

Rokuta perched stark naked on top of a block of flats, Hourai-black hair blowing in the breeze. Tendrils adhered to his neck in sticky city humidity.

"Correction. Cross-country delivery boy. Enki goes international." He sighed and took his list from Yokuhi. "The chibi wants oil paints. What are oil paints? And why are they so much better than our paints?"

"I wouldn't know, Taiho."

"Hmph. I suppose he's too busy snuggling with Gyousou to go and get them himself. And look, our neighbour's getting in on the action too. Apparently Youko wants books in Japanese. History books, and political philsophy. Looks like I need to have a sharp word with her kirin again.

"And Risetsu-nee... Oh, it's one of those Western things. _Chan-eru Number Five? _What in the name of the gods is that?" He shook his head. "I guess I should be glad that Ren-Ou didn't ask for a tractor."

The infamously uninspirational city blocks of Edo - _Tokyo_, he corrected himself - spread out below his feet. No matter how far up one sat, the sounds of traffic still floated up. The sun shone on uniform glossy black heads passing below. Huge signs advertising various products in florescent kanji were suckered to the grey buildings like crickets to a tree.

He lightly took a running start to the edge of the roof, putting some extra spring into his knees and sending himself in a graceful arc over the street canyon below. He spread his arms wide, hair streaming as he fell like a boy meteor towards the cars. The rushing air felt good in the dull summer heat. Before he hit the tarmac, he transformed into his beast form and galloped through bubbles of radio chatter, video advertisements on giant screens and pounding J-pop issuing forth from the clothes shops. From the sheer variety of hair colours on the teenagers below, one could almost be in Kankyuu.

As the lights turned green at Shibuya Crossroad, the space underneath him welled up into a scrambling mass of people clutching shopping bags or mobile phones. He caught his fractured reflection in a bank of mirrored office windows.

He winced at the sight of a subway station. Nasty things, them. So many dark thoughts and musings, all congealing together in that cramped, superficially clean place, sticking to his skin like beads of fat. A kirin was born for open skies and fresh air. Winds to blow away the stench of human corruption. Sometimes he wondered what these people had done with all their fresh air. Did they have a personal grudge against it?

He resorted to some less than pure methods to acquire his ill-gotten treasures - although after putting up with_ him_ for five hundred years, surely the gods should owe him a little slack. He slung an indigo Books Kinokuniya bag over his shoulder, a wooden case full of paint tubes under the other. It'd taken him ages to find one without a leather handle.

He stopped to stare into a drinks vending machine. "Pocari Sweat" he muttered in disgust. "These modern Hourai people sure are unbelievable." Hot and thirsty, he squeezed his way into the nearest teahouse. A nice cup of tea. The very thought made his cells cry out in pleasure.

"Hmm," said the suited and briefcased businessman in front of him, rubbing his chin. "I'll have... the tall mocha-choco vanilla-caramel cappucino, hold the caffeine, with soy milk, extra cinnamon. Leave some room."

Enki blinked and leant over the counter as the man moved away. "Can I get a cup of tea, please?"

"What kind?" chirped the barista, shiny ponytail bobing. "Earl Grey? Herbal? Black? Iced tea? Chai latte? And what size? To go, or stay in?"

"Eh...never mind." he muttered, slinking away, totally baffled. He passed a glass box of ridiculous pastries, pausing to frown at a siren's sigil on the wall. So this was the kind of mystical being their artisans depicted today. But just what was a _staa-bahk_? And why was it patronising this pallid excuse for a teahouse?

Tired of the heat, he returned to the air, taking a detour over the Imperial Palace. The extensive grounds were a green blotch on the city below, a patch of moss on a cement path. The skyscrapers huddled at the edges of it, as though backing away in reverence. After all this time, Rokuta found it strange that an Emperor should live amongst his people on the ground.

Hourai people - he still got a jolt when he found himself thinking of them like this - had changed so much during these centuries, or more accurately, the last one. Still the politeness, the ingrained self-control. But... there was something disturbing about this place. They planted cherryblossoms, redirected the city around the palace, dressed in kimono for special occasions. But they built dolphin-nosed bullet trains, they polluted the oceans and rivers, they marred the landscape. There were books on sale telling men how to get away with groping schoolgirls, and the poor were allowed to slip through the cracks into destitution.

But it wasn't just Hourai. It was the world. A place were 'incurable' disease could be stopped in their tracks, but millions were allowed to starve to death. Maybe Tentei had a point with the segregation of Over Here with the world Over There. Maybe by keeping the Twelve Kingdoms from sharing their problems and successes, he was trying to preserve something. Brotherhood, perhaps. Although he still liked the kid from Kei's ideas about the international aid thing. Maybe not all newfangled Hourai ideas were so bad after all.

Back on the streets, he frowned as he passed a mother desperately trying to engage her son in conversation as they sat at a streetside cafe. The kid scowled and mashed a few buttons on his black game-box, tinny music forming a wall between them. Scratch that last thought.

He couldn't find Risetsu's mysterious request. Instead he bought her several slabs of chocolate. She couldn't get enough of the stuff. He'd once walked in on her feeding pieces to Ranjou. He slipped a postcard of a_ maiko_, a flamboyant apprentice geisha, from a wire rack outside a tourist store. She'd get a kick out of the costume.

Pausing beneath a shady tree on a street corner, he watched a group of giggling girls in buckles, ruffles and thigh-high boots clomp past. Perhaps he should get something for Shouryuu. But when he'd asked, his master had looked up with a lazy smile. He'd given the impression that he was only paying attention because there was a junior member of the Ministry of Heaven bobbing at his elbow, flustering for his seal on a bit of paperwork.

"What do I want?" he had said slowly, tapping one forefinger agaisnt his jaw. "Nothing I can't get here. Bring yourself back quickly."

Rokuta's eyes narrowed. He stared at the sidewalk. Specks of chewing gum dotted the cement, almost as if someone couldn't bear the monotony of all that grey.

"Yokuhi," he called softly. His nyosen materialised by his side. "Take the bags and fly with Rikaku and Kibou. Meet me at Genei Palace."

Faster than any earthly eye could see, he was galloping free of the needle-spined skyscraper jungle and into the open air-

* * *

Flat out, hide coated in a sheen of sweat, he crossed the dark ocean, blinking salt spray free of his eyes.

It wasn't often that he really got to stretch himself like this. Were it not for the pressing thoughts on his mind, the joy of it would have overwhelmed him. As it were, there was only one thing he wanted to think about.

It was late when he finally dove through the skies above Genei Palace. He zeroed in on the precise building, the precise hall. He shot sinuously around the screen in the entryway, folding into a heap of naked young boy on the carpet by his master's feet. He rested on all fours, head unintentionally bowed, as he panted from the exertion.

Shouryuu calmly surveyed him from over the top of his sake cup. "Well, well. A naked kirin lying prostate before my feet, short of breath. What shall I do with you?"

Rokuta raised his head, eyes never straying from his master's. Strands of sweaty golden hair hung down in front of his face.

He opened his mouth to make a caustic comeback, but Shouryuu waved one hand in an amused fashion.

"There's a pile of clothes on that sidetable. And I have tea ready to brew, and fresh peaches. I've been expecting you home for about an hour already. What took you so long?"He made no pretense of looking away as Rokuta pulled on his familiar clothes, tugging his sash straight.

"I've been running errands," he grumbled. "The world seems to think I'm it's delivery boy."

"What did you bring me?"

Rokuta rolled his eyes. "Nothing. You didn't ask for anything."

"I shouldn't have to. You should revere me as a god."

"Hah!"

"If it annoys you so much, why can't Taiki go? He's old enough."

Rokuta pulled out the chair on the other eide of Shouryuu's desk.

"Can't have the White Tiger going hungry".

"But it's fine if _I _go hungry?"

Rokuta snorted. Shouryuu just smirked and tossed him a peach from a celadon bowl on the desk.

"You look a bit peckish yourself. I'll bet they don't have peaches as good as these in Hourai."

It gave way sweetly beneath his teeth, perfectly ripe, almost melting as good things do. But then, these peaches always did. He tossed the stone out of the window.

"You're disgusting when you do that."

"You're disgusting all the time."

Dark eyes under dark hair glinted. He was dressed in his usual careless manner, robe gaping wide open over his chest, hair loose over his shoulders. His presence filled the room, dominating it, monolithic.

"You sure you didn't bring me anything?" he asked.

Rokuta stood up, arms outstretched, and spun around slowly. "One kirin," he said, half-sarcastically.

His master smiled and drained the sake cup.

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**A/N More stories soon. Feedback most appreciated. **


	2. Perfect Artwork

**A/N Originally written for the GyouTai fans on LJ - forgot I'd never posted it here. Spoilery for _The Shore in Twilight_. Features OLDER Taiki! Older! By the way - if you're wondering what's happened to BotE, there's a explanation on my profile.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Perfect Artwork**

One of his young servants knocked at the half-open door.

"Taiho? Your guest has arrived and is ready to be received."

"Thank you, Shikei. I'll be there presently."

Taiki quickly finished rinsing the paint splotches from his hands. Where was... _there_. Hurriedly, he cleared up his work surface and checked that he hadn't dropped anything on his formal black robes. Really, he shouldn't have worn this outfit for his work, but whenever there were five minutes spare and no master to occupy them, he found himself drawn back to this studio. Everything in its proper files, he smoothed his clothes down, with one last check for charcoal smudges, and made his way to the guest palace.

His master was waiting alone in the formal reception hall. When he heard the approaching footsteps, he looked over one shoulder and broke into a smile.

"There you are. I was just about to come looking for you."

Taiki returned the smile from behind a curtain of dark hair, the light washing over it like fine steel as he ducked his head slightly.

"I was just in the art studio Master Gyousou so kindly built for me."

"Is that so? What have you been painting?"

"Nothing special. I was thinking that perhaps my anatomy needs a little more work…"

Before either could say anything else, the doors at the end of the hall opened, and a familiar figure came strolling through.

"Kei-Taiho! I'm so glad you made it."

Behind him, Gyousou gave a small huff of irritated amusement.

"I hope you are well?" Keiki asked in his usual monotone, the only indication of his pleasure a slight relaxation of the eyes.

"I am, thank you. It's so good to see you again. We certainly have much to talk about. Tell me, how is Nakajima-san?"

"The Empress is…busy."

"I'm sorry she couldn't come. Can I offer you some tea?"

Gyousou cleared his throat. He dipped his head in acknowledgement to their guest.

"Kei-Taiho, I mean no disrespect but today I do not have the time to converse. In any case, I believe you will be in better company with Kouri. If the formalities are now out of the way, I hope you will excuse me."

"Of course."

Taiki followed his master out of the room with his eyes.

"You are happy, I trust?" Keiki asked anxiously, looking down his stern nose at the younger kirin.

"Oh, _yes_."

"That is good to know."

"Would you follow me? I've been meaning to show you something for a while now."

Keiki walked beside him in utter silence as they crossed the courtyard. Peering nervously up at him, Taiki couldn't help but notice a faint scowl on his old friend's face. He felt his heart sink in disappointment.

"Keiki… are you sure you're all right? You look upset about something."

"Indeed?"

"I won't intrude on your privacy, but if there is anything I can offer..."

"Thank you, but I am quite all right."

There was a small building with a black-tiled roof sweeping up at the corners, tucked away in one corner of the Imperial Gardens. There was a mirror-quiet pool wrapped around it, reflecting twisted black pines and sculpted shrubs. It was not an extravagant structure, rather more self-contained and refined.

"Master Gyousou had this set up for me as a surprise," Taiki explained, opening the door, "because I once mentioned how much I'd liked painting when I lived in Hourai."

The room inside was airy and light, and simply furnished. A small table with the equipment for making tea stood against one wall. There was a desk, and easels, and boxes of paints lined next to bamboo brush racks, inkstones and coloured pigment sticks with gold decorations. Several tasteful paintings and scrolls were hung on the walls.

"He went a little overboard," said Taiki, blushing slightly.

"He cares deeply for you," said Keiki, a touch too solemn.

Taiki glanced up at him. "Taiho, you really do sound strange today. Are you sure there is nothing wrong with you?"

"I am in perfect health" Keiki intoned, staring at a jug overflowing with scarlet camellias.

"Well, if you're sure…"

The older kirin appeared to snap out of it, giving a strained little smile. "Of course I am. May I see some of your work?"

"I'm not that good," said Taiki modestly, trying to hide his pleasure and relief. He pulled a painting tube from the rack on the wall and unrolled a delicate watercolour before his guest, smoothing it flat onto the table with pebbles plucked from a riverbank.

"I painted this last winter. Master Gyousou took me down to the city in disguise so I could observe the people. But I have better ones…" he continued, noticing the renewed scowl on his mentor's face.

He stole a glance behind him as he selected a folder full of uncontroversial sketches.

"These are the pavilions by the lake-"

"Very skilful."

"And the court ladies in summer..."

"Well done."

"And this is….oh. _Oh_."

They both stared at the drawing for several long, silent moments.

"I…forgot that was in there," he explained weakly.

Keiki looked wide-eyed at the portrait. At Gyousou's broad, sculpted frame, the powerful pose. At the wide shoulders, the contours of the muscles running across his arms and his back and …down.

His eyes, half-closed, glittered darkly from the paper.

Keiki swallowed. "The shading is indeed very competent."

"Oh…um, thank you. Life study, is, of course, an important discipline in the education of an artist…"

"…The, the muscles are particularly so. There are…so very many."

"Kei-Taiho…" He shifted on his feet and tenuously glanced up. In fascination, he watched a deep blush suffuse the Kei-Taiho's face.

The older kirin looked up, a expression of utter shock in his eyes. "Taiki-" he whispered, voice shaking slightly.

Taiki took a deep breath.

"Oh, come on Keiki," he said, slightly impatient as he whisked the offending portrait away. "Just because you keep a steel rein on yourself doesn't mean we all have to."

"But-"

"The others do it too, you know – well, some of them. In fact, it was En-Taiho who-"

Keiki hurriedly shut his eyes. "Please, no."

"To be frank, we were all beginning to get a little worried about you."

"Taiki!"

"As long as you keep it quiet from the ministers, nobody kicks up a fuss-"

"Taiki-" Keiki took a few deep breaths. "But…but…"

He swallowed again.

"But – Tai-Ou seems like a very honourable man."

"Yes, he is."

"A man who would not wish to take advantage of his kirin in any way."

"No, of course not. Keiki, where are you going with this?"

"A man, in fact, who might actually need a little encouragement before he deemed the act… acceptable."

"_Oh_," said Taiki in sudden comprehension. He glanced at the jug of red camellias and blinked. "Oh, Keiki. I have so much to tell you."

* * *

"You've been very quiet lately, Kouri."

"Have I, Master Gyousou? I'm sorry. I've just had things on my mind."

"Because the Taiho of Kei has returned home? Are you that lonely?"

Taiki approached his master's desk, sitting down on the chair at his left-hand side. "How could I be lonely" he replied, smiling a little shyly. "When I have you?"

"That reminds me. The Empress of Kei sent you something."

"Nakajima-san?"

Gyousou pushed an intricately carved wooden box across the desk. "Yes. A courier delivered it an hour or two ago."

Taiki curiously opened the lid. There, on a bed of luxurious white silk, lay a single paintbrush. There was a note neatly placed on top.

_I owe you a big favour._

Taiki laughed out loud. "He actually worked up the courage?"

"What's this?" asked Gyousou, leaning in curiously.

"Sorry," said Taiki, withdrawing the brush and closing the lid with a soft click, one black silk sleeve trailing over the wood with a faint whisper. "Kirin confidentiality."

"Sometimes I think you confide more in that Kei-Taiho of yours than you do in me," said Gyousou, a dark smile beginning at the corners of his mouth. "Perhaps I should start becoming jealous."

Taiki leaned right back in his chair, hair spilling down his shoulders and catching the light, silvered. He gently laid one leg over the other, twisting his ankle round in little circles. The shoe began to slip off. He touched the fine point of the brush to his lips, beginning to curve upwards.

Gyousou's attention slid to the graceful foot bobbing at the corner of his vision. He frowned and leant over attentively, eyes fixed on the exposed white skin at the hem of the deep silk.

"What in…"

Taiki carelessly flicked his shoe off. It landed with a clatter behind Gyousou's back.

"There is," he said, leaning back a little further so that the hem of his outfit slid further up his leg, "No reason at all for you to be jealous, Master."

Gyousou bent over and gently took Taiki's foot in his hand. There were flowers painted on the ankle, vivid in petals of deep crimson and dusky pink. They budded in a vine vanishing beneath the hem of his robes.

Gyousou pushed the silk up a little further. There were the flowers again, lush and deep and just unfurling from their tight buds. He pushed the robes a bit further, and the flowers were opening up…

"How far do these go?" He asked in a deep voice, raising his eyes, amused and dark, to meet Taiki's.

Taiki leant forward until his face was just a few inches in front of his master's, until he could feel the heat from his skin. He lightly touched the soft tip of the brush to Gyousou's lips.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?"


	3. Boss

**A/N A little YouKei for you... decidedly not-serious humour this time!**

**Major thanks to Artimusdin, Gun_Smoke_Blue, Kocimietka and Ranmizu for help, support and chatting. You guys are great. :)**

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**Boss**

If summers were always this hot in Gyouten, Youko was glad she wasn't the Empress of Ren. Irritably kicking the blankets wadded at the end of her bed, she sat up and brushed sweaty hair from her temples. According to the Sankou, this was normal Kei weather. In a day or two, it would break and the rains would pour down. By the end of the week they'd all be desperate for some sunshine and knee-deep in mud.

She hoped he was right. She didn't think anyone had gotten any work done over the last few days. Those who could afford a few dents in their dignity had taken to sleeping outside, where they at least stood a chance of catching a breeze or two. She supposed that she could keep a servant up to fan her as she fell asleep, but the grandness of that thought made her wince.

Deciding she'd had enough, she peeled off her clammy robe and splashed her face with water from the basin Gyokuyou left on the side table. Letting it drip from her fingers, she shifted her feet on the coolness of the floor. Thinking of the sea and the winds that blew off it, she wondered if she dared go out this late at night on so foolish a pursuit.

It was ridiculous that an Empress in her own palace was scared to act on impulse in case she'd get into trouble. There were any number of ministers ready to chide her, and she had some of the most outspoken maidservants in the kingdom. They were probably tested on their stubbornness when they applied for the post.

They wanted her to act like a proper ruler and claim responsibility for the entire populace. But she was denied every little freedom in return. She couldn't even take a moonlit walk in the garden without her retinue in hot pursuit and the correct clothing dragging from her shoulders.

She twitched, narrowed her eyes with a scheming thought and decided that Keiki would most likely be asleep at this time of night. Perhaps if she did flout convention this once, nobody would ever need to know. Certainly nobody else would find her until she came back.

With a delightful sense of rebellion, she seized the lightest robe to hand, the silk gauze shift that was technically underwear. Tying her hair up and slipping her feet into plain shoes, she padded out of her personal rooms, leaving her startled guards behind with an order not to follow.

The sound of crickets grew her as she left the retainers and their pleas behind. The air outside the Seishin was already a few degrees cooler and fresher. Leaves rustled as she took the quietest route down to her favourite bolt-hole, the breeze catching her robe and sending it fluttering around her legs. Strangely quiet, her footsteps rang in the empty courtyards and walkways. The lanterns were lit but only she was there to see them, or the light that flickered into the shadows.

The tunnel entrance was black, a new-moon gate. Shoes scuffing on the flagstones, she stopped dead in her tracks.

A figure stepped forward and stared sternly down. He didn't really need to say anything. She felt her heart lose its wings and sink.

"Before you start," she said "I would like to point out that you're up and out of bed too."

"I am not alone."

"Neither am I," she protested. It was met by silence. She sighed. Nobody could puncture a good mood like Keiki."I guess you couldn't sleep either"

"I will admit that sleep is difficult in this weather. However, I have been using my time to draft reports."

"I bet you have. You know, sometimes I wish it wasn't so easy for you to find me."

The shadow took a step closer. Youko grimaced.

"How many times must I ask you to take guards with you when you leave your residence?"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, hearing his annoyed intake of breath. "Come on, then."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Guards. I didn't bring any, so you'll have to do. If someone tries to attack me, you should have no problem lecturing them to death."

She felt rather than heard his rebuke.

"Keiki, I've got no intention of going back." She started for the tunnel. "You want to come, that's fine with me. Otherwise I'll just sit there on my lonesome, with a big target on my back saying 'Depose Me'."

Muttering to himself, he trailed after her, their steps echoing from the stone. Her mood soured, Youko strode ahead, feeling a little burst of satisfaction as she heard him pick up his pace. She wondered if she should feel guilty for treating him so, but she was the Empress. If she wanted ten minutes to do her own thing, what was to stop her?

The warm salt air blew to her face as she walked out to her abandoned valley, where the pavilions were half in ruin. The sea worked through the rocks before drawing back out, dragging the foam reluctantly with it.

A sudden burst of moonlight drew a surprised sound from Keiki. Turning around, she looked at him.

"This is what you call appropriate attire?" he demanded. "What if a minister were to see?"

"There is a minister seeing and I don't really care what he thinks," she retorted, aware that she sounded like a child. She bent down and tugged off her shoes, revealing quite a bit of leg in the process.

"It's almost translucent!" protested Keiki. "and not to mention poorly tied. I can almost see Her Highness's full silhouette."

"Is it so repulsive to the eye that it must be hidden?"

"I...That is..."

Straightening, she put her hands on her hips and eyed the sea with a certain devilish glee. Catching her glance, Keiki's voice grew resigned. "Please tell me you do not mean to go swimming?"

"Nope," she said, the dry grass pricking at her feet. "But I am going to splash around a bit."

"Splash..."

"Didn't you ever play around in the water when you were a kid, Keiki?"

He stiffened. "I spent my time on Mt Hou understanding what would be required of me as kirin of Kei."

"Of course you did." She could see him too, a little boy with a mop of golden hair, making the nyosen explain again the exact function of the Daishito's third secretary's assistant ink-grinder.

She made her way down the rocks, arms spread for balance as her toes scraped agaisnt the rough surface. If she could only get there, the coastline sloped down here and there was a little sandy cove. With a sigh of great exasperation, Keiki began to follow her.

"You don't have to come."

Instead of answering, he held up an overlying branch so she could duck underneath. She let out a small sound of satisfaction at the sensation of soft sand squishing between her toes. Keiki stepped onto the sand as though he thought something might jump out and bite him.

"This is so much better than tossing and turning around in my bed," she said, holding her hair up to get the cool breeze on the back of her neck. She strolled along the coast, letting him gingerly follow behind. She watched him jump back to avoid the sea as it washed in a little further than expected, splashing over his shoes. He froze in surprise, one foot still in the air.

The irritation pouring out of her, she watched him gathering his dignity.

"Do you have to walk behind me like that?" she asked. "I know you've got to in public, but is it really necessary when it's only us two?"

"The Saiho always follows behind their liege. Even when alone, the Saiho must position themselves at the lord's back."

"Why?"

"It has always been so."

"Yeah, but why?"

Sea foam swirled around her ankles and pulled an old fable from the edges of her memory. How did that story go again? Perhaps the mermaid fell in love with the prince and turned herself into something else to win him, even though it pained her to do so. When he fell in love with another, she threw herself back to the sea and turned herself into foam. Or did she kill the both of them first?

No. She couldn't tell him that story, even though she was searching for something to say that would get him talking.

To her surprise, he spoke up without her prompting him further.

"It is the privilege of the Saiho," he said, looking at her shoulder rather than her face, "to be always able to gaze upon their liege and receive that contentment. Without having to meet the intensity of that master's gaze."

He didn't seem to notice when a wave came up and sloshed over the top of his shoe.

"Right," Youko said, coming back to herself. "I get it. You can look at me as much as you want, Keiki. But it's going to be an impeded view, because I want you to walk next to me when we're alone."

He shot her a look from beneath his hair. The same kind of look a parent gives a child when they're trying to get away with something.

"No?" she said cheerfully. "All right. Let me put it another way. Either you can quit this silliness and put up with having to look at me from the side, or you can carry on as you are and get a really unobstructed view."

"...Shu-jou?"

"Which is it?"

He looked at her with narrowed eyes and a straight mouth.

"Going to be stubborn? All right. I'll take that as a refusal. Unobstructed view it is!"

As she reached for the ribbons tying her robe shut, his eyes widened in shock.

"Shu-jou!"

She undid the bow and turned around, pulling it off. The robe easily slid off her shoulders and she tossed it onto the beach.

"Ah," she said, stretching her arms out, the air and the softness of her hair brushing her bare back. "That feels good."

"Shu-jou!"

"You said this is what was you wanted. You know I can't deny you anything, Keiki. Look to your heart's content!"

She looked over her shoulder and grinned impishly at him. A deer in headlights, she thought, and laughed.

At that sound, Keiki tore his gaze away and swallowed. Being very careful to not look at her, he made his way across the sand and picked up the discarded robe, shaking the sand out and holding it by the shoulders. She could almost hear his heart sink as he snuck a glance up and found that she'd wandered out further into the water.

She let him stew a few minutes as he stood stiffly at the water's edge, holding her robe out like a shield and staring resolutely at his feet. She bent to dip one arm into the sea and let the water stream down in glittering rivulets, as though she were bathing in diamonds. Perhaps she'd tortured him enough for one day. She was even starting to feel a little sorry for him.

He froze as she walked up, turned her back to him and slipped her arms through the sleeves of her robe. He mutely helped settle the silk over her shoulders as she tied it shut. He really was cute when he was like this. She ought to tease him more often. Show him who was boss.

"Hey," she said. "It's all right now."

He looked up slowly and gave her one of his signature sideways glances, eyes narrowed in disapproval as he crossed his arms.

"Your Highness ought to put more value in her modesty."

She just smiled at him, letting him save a little face.

"You want to remind me about that on the way back?"

He stuck firmly to her side as they clambered back across the rocks and onto the grass. She glanced up and found him looking at her through the corner of his eye, which widened before he looked away.

She frowned as she found her shoes in the grass. There were still grains of sand stuck to her feet, and all in between her toes. It wasn't a short walk back to her personal apartments and her shoes were going to rub every single step of the way. Sitting down on a large, smooth rock that had once been part of the ornamentation, she grabbed a handful of grass and began to scrub at her feet. Keiki winced and knelt down before her.

"Please stop," he said, taking her wrist and pulling the grass from it. "You'll hurt yourself."

He took her foot and placed it on her knee, using the bottom of his robe to brush the sand off with great care. She wiggled her toes at him, and he scowled a little. She managed to let him get the sand from between her toes without laughing, silently putting her other foot on his knee when he held his hands out for it. They were warmer than she'd expected.

Slipping her shoe on, he made to stand up but stopped when she put her hand on the top of his head.

"Hey, Keiki," she said, swinging her clean feet. "I'm sorry for all the abuse."

"I'm used to it."

"Was that a joke?"

"I never joke."

"Huh. Well, you know. I am sorry. I guess I shouldn't take it all out on you when I'm in a bad mood."

As they walked back through the tunnel, the sounds of waves fading behind them, he said "Your Highness's guards must be worried by now."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"If Your Highness were to promise to stay in bed for the rest of the night and try to get some sleep, I could say that I called you away on urgent business."

"I promise," she said, looking up at him with a grin. "Hey, Keiki? It's nice being able to see you like this."

He just shut his eyes and sighed. "Yes, Your Majesty."


	4. Half Dead Already

**A/N - Another En fic. Be warned, spoilers for _The Shore in Twilight_.**

**

* * *

**

**Half Dead Already**

In the shade of crimson leaves, the inside of the pavilion was dark, and the vista of the plains beneath the mountains bright and lush beyond the gloom. The sound of rustling foliage was punctuated by sharp footsteps.

Now that the initial anxiety had faded, Enki found himself replacing it with sheer fury.

"Don't work too hard," he said, putting his hands on his hips and looming over the man reclining under the sweeping gold roof. "We wouldn't want you to wear yourself out now."

Shouryuu opened one eye, unconcerned.

"What are you going to get on my back about now? I came all the way out here to get a bit of peace for once."

Enki's teeth came together with a audible clash. "Aren't you going to do anything?"

"I am doing something. I'm taking a nap."

"You're-" he shut his eyes and moaned. "That's the third time this week. And you haven't even been giving us the usual two-minute warning before you skip. I had four ministers telling me to come out here and haul you back. I've got my own work to do. Let's get going."

"I'm not going back."

"What?"

"You said it yourself. You wouldn't want me to wear myself out now."

"Listen, you pompous..."

He yawned. "It's unusually warm for this time of year, isn't it?"

"We have autumn every year!" Enki snarled, impervious to the charms of the leaves around him. "We've already been away from work too long the past few weeks!"

"You were the one who wanted to rescue Taiki so much."

"Well he's rescued, ain't he? That doesn't mean you can go running off to mountaintops whenever it suits your fancy! What happens if the gods get offended at your laziness, eh?"

"If you listen to the ministers, I've done nothing _but_ offend the gods for the last few decades."

"It's their job to be annoyed at you. That's what makes them good ministers."

Shouryuu propped himself up on one elbow and squinted at the boy through his eyelashes.

"Come here."

"Eh?"

"If you're not going to go away, at least come over here so I don't have to hurt my neck looking up at you."

Enki stalked over and sank stiffly down. _At least he's not in a brothel this time_, his mind said before he shut it up.

"Tentei obviously doesn't give a damn," Shouryuu continued. "We're still here, aren't we? If you want a little attention from him these days, you've got to either trip up on a technicality or do something really spectacular."

Silent for a moment, Enki wondered how he could insult his way to something approximating an 'are you all right?'.

"I get it," he managed, "you're still moping around because Nippon did something inconsiderate like changing while not in your honourable presence, right?"

Shouryuu opened one eye and scowled with it. "There's no need for that."

"But I'm right, aren't I?"

Shouryuu sighed. "How do you deal with it?" he asked. "You know what it looks like now. You've been watching it change for centuries now. How do you do it?"

"Guess you can get used to anything," Enki muttered, watching the wind sway through the the maples. "One world stays roughly the same, one changes so quick you can't keep track. There are so many differences between this world and that one, one extra doesn't give me a headache. It's really not so different to watching kings ascend and die, ascend and die, with the occasional bit of corruption and slaughter along the way."

"I understand why you keep going back. But I couldn't."

"Yeah."

"There's nothing there that was of our world, is there? Nobody that would recognise my name or my family. Our existence is swept cleanly away. I wonder how long it will take to erase us in En."

"Huh?" Enki's spine stiffened in alarm.

"Right now we're held as this great example. Everyone looks to En. And yet we all must die someday. The people who knew us will die. We'll be just a story in the history books."

"Hey-"

"People die. We've seen generations of them die and be forgotten. What's the point of it all? All we do is prolong the space between birth and death, a space that will always be filled with suffering no matter what we do. Look at Tai, how easy that was to sweep away. Will it ever recover? How long can our redhead taika hold on by her fingertips before she gets swept away as well? All those kings and kirin we were with not that long ago – how long for them? All that will be left of any of us will be a handful of posthumous names and lore. You kirin won't even get graves. Kind of makes you want to give up, doesn't it?"

Enki stared at him a moment, lost for words. He closed his eyes and sighed. Then he tightened his mouth into a scowl and whacked the man over the head.

"Ow!"

"Five hundred years and your idiocy still surprises me," he spat. "There's proof of divine intervention."

Sprawled on the stone floor, Shouryuu looked up at him with the usual stupid expression as he rubbed his head. "There was no need for that."

"I can't believe you're acting like this after half a millennium," Enki put his hands on his hips. "Of all people to get a mid-life crisis-"

"What?"

"Newfangled Hourai explanation for acting like an asshole. The saddest part is that you're only halfway there. I've got to put up with you for another five hundred years."

"You think I'm going to last a whole thousand years? Nobody's ever done that before."

"Nobody's ever been as stubborn as you," Enki snorted. "I've no doubt you're mule-headed enough to do it if you want to."

The ghost of a smile appeared on his master's face. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"What if I get bored," he persisted, "and destroy the whole country? Tentei wouldn't have any choice but to kill us. We can start as soon as we get back."

"Bored? How can you get bored when we're always up to our necks in some kind of trouble?"

He shrugged. "But it's always the same kind of trouble. Youma, despotic ministers, food shortages, countries crying for help. When was the last time we got anything interesting?"

"You don't call rescuing a kirin from Hourai interesting?"

"It made a nice change, I suppose." Yes, now he was definitely smirking around the edges.

That was the thing about Shouryuu. To be honest, Enki was a little relieved whenever he found something controversial to ally himself to. If the world was neatly ordered and nothing went wrong, Shouryuu would start to destroy it all just to have something to do. Perhaps he'd play a game with himself – see how far he could push En to the point of no return, and then save it at the very last second.

At least, Enki hoped he would try and save it.

Even that infuriating leer was good in its own way. An Emperor was tied to his country. Enki couldn't help but feel that if Shouryuu began to have an existential crisis, the land would shake loose of its foundations. The sea would rise and cover the sun. That the only thing between En and that fate was Enki, stringlike and stretching, was a worrying thought. He didn't know how far he could be pulled before snapping.

"I bet I wouldn't be forgotten if I smashed the whole country to pieces," Shouryuu continued calmly, squinting up to the sky. "I'd be an astounding example of what not to do."

Enki snorted. "Keep talking that way and you'll end up choking on a fishbone in your dinner. You'd hate that, wouldn't you? It's a blaze of glory or nothing. You don't really want to start oppressing the people."

"I don't know. People start getting quite expendable after five hundred years."

Enki continued to banter on with half of his brain – but then _he_ was doing it too, eyes fixed on something in the distance. He let himself relax against the banister.

If one of the ministers had been allowed to overhear this conversation, they would be horrified. But then they wouldn't understand what it was really about. How could they? There were very few people in the world who would, and that was part of the problem.

Five hundred years. So far beyond the normal bounds of human existence, it was little wonder the two of them were seen as gods.

But it wasn't merely that they were old. Plenty of kings made it to their second or third century. The problem, as far as they were concerned, was that they were heading into uncharted territory. Beyond the precedents and the fables. Sou, the only kingdom greater than their own, would shortly take the title of longest reign in history. In a way, Enki pitied the king and kirin of Sou. Things there must become a little nervous with nobody else to look up to. Nobody to ask for help. To be the greatest king in the world must be a burden indeed. Nobody to create a barrier between you and things intangible.

Shouryuu liked to be in control. Everyone did, or at least liked to know that they could deal with whatever was coming their way. Being a king was not impossibly hard, after one made the effort to understand it. Troubles would always come their way, but most of these they would have faced before, and thus there would be no doubt whatsoever that these could be handed with the minimum of fuss.

This visit to Hourai had shaken him. A world that he had once played a part in had changed beyond his comprehension. So much of his identity was based on being a taika, on the experiences that made him different, that to find that identity ripped away so suddenly had left him strangely adrift, and at the worst time too. Heading into an uncertain age. The blank space at the edge of the map.

Death had an allure. The ultimate unknown, it could send shivers down anyone's spine, but the fascination was understandably greater for immortals. After a while, it stared you in the face like a challenge, as all those whom one once knew disappeared. Most ministers couldn't stand it past the age of eighty, and resigned, voluntarily giving up their immortality. At the age of five hundred, it was always at the edges of the vision. How long did they have left, when they'd already outlasted most others? When they'd already been given much more than the allotted dose?

The tiredness of the battle-weary old soldier is poorly masked behind a youthful face. It starts to leak from the eyes.

"Oh, well," Enki shrugged."If you die tomorrow, I ain't got many complaints. En's in good shape. The next king won't have to do much to put it in order. We've got good ministers who won't blink an eyelid – hey, they do all the work around here anyway. Half the countries over here owe us favours. Youko sure won't be able to resist sauntering over and keeping an eye on things. Go ahead and die."

Shouryuu eyed him warily. "What's all this about?"

"I'm saying..." _you're a good king, you idiot, and there won't be another like you _"you're just being lazy again. You just want some sympathy so we'll leave you alone to get drunk for a week or two. You've been so careful with this place for so long, it's in your bones now."

Enki seized a clump of his hair and yanked it hard. Shouryuu gave a grunt and glowered up at him.

"You're accusing me of simple indolence?"

"You bet I am. You're not getting off that easily, you know. Like I said, another five hundred years, and doesn't that scare you? You should just be glad that it's half over. Keep working and you'll up in heaven drinking with your dead buddies before you know it. You know what to do now. Just be glad you're half dead already."

Shouryuu frowned, then his forehead smoothed. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Enki gave him a look of disgust. "Stop it with the drama, won't you? You're just trying to get out of dealing with the real world."

"Am I?"

"Yeah. You're sly like that. All ruthless when you need to be, especially with yourself, and creative too. That's why you've stuck around so long. You've always been right when you've said it's not because you're a great man that you've spent so long making my life a misery. 'Cause you're not a great man. You just know the recipe and you're good at dragging people into things."

"I don't know whether to be touched or insulted."

"Whatever. Just stop moping. What happens if Tentei hears your little moan, decides you've gone senile and strikes me with shitsudou, huh? What happens if I die?"

"I'd go up to heaven and make him give you back"

The hairs prickled on the back of his neck. "What?"

"You heard me. I'd march on up there and give the gods hell until they decided you weren't worth the trouble and handed you back all wrapped in ribbons."

Enki folded his arms. "And just how are you going to get all the way up there?"

Shouryuu turned his gaze to the sky, a smile lingering about his mouth. "Perhaps there's another sea up there. I like sailing. I'll take my boat up there and sail to Tentei's palace and sneak in and get you. How hard could it be?"

Enki groaned. "You really are an idiot."

"You've been saying that for the past five hundred years."

"I'll be saying it for the next five hundred as well."

"Hey, Rokuta. Do something for me."

Enki gave him a suspicious look. "What?"

"Change into your kirin shape and gallop through the sky for me."

"What?"

"Old soldiers like to see pretty things like that. It reminds us that life isn't all death and bloodshed."

Enki snorted and turned away. He could almost hear the smirk on Shouryuu's face as the man lay down with his arms folded under his head. A few minutes later, he began to snore lightly.

At least that was this particular little bout of morbid stupidity over with, Enki told himself, not admitting to himself that he had been worried, the same way he couldn't admit to himself that Shouryuu's self-important arrogance was soothing at times like this.

_Five hundred more years of this,_ he groaned to himself, lying down and pointing his long nose in Shouryuu's direction as he flicked his ears. He'd probably strangle the man himself before then.


	5. Triptych

**Triptych**

* * *

"Risai!" Taiki leaned out of his sedan chair and waved. "I'm over here! We just arrived!"

The woman smiled and bowed. "Good evening, Taiho. You certainly look cosy in there. Your maidservants did a good job wrapping you up."

Even above the Cloud Sea, winters in Tai were fiercely bitter once the snows had fallen. It seemed nobody wanted to take chances with the young Taiho. He'd been swaddled in a thick quilted coat over his robes, bundled into blankets and given hot tea and braziers to warm his covered chair. Four of the three blinds were firmly pulled down to keep off the wind.

One of his escort tittered. "The Taiho was so excited, we could barely get him to stand still long enough to dress him."

Laughter spread amongst the group and Risai hid her mouth behind one hand.

"Risai-dono, aren't you cold?"

"I'm a hardy specimen, Taiho. Besides, I'm sure all the exercise will warm me up soon enough."

"You're taking part in the demonstrations?"

She nodded. "I'll be one of the archers."

"Wow. You must be really good."

She laughed. "I hope so, or my humiliation will be before a very large audience."

This evening, the Imperial Court was arrayed along the shores of the palace's largest lake. It had frozen completely solid, and that very morning the Palace Guards had tested the ice and declared it safe. Snow frosted the pines and lay banked in piles around their trunks. It was a clear night and the stars were glittering.

"It's a demonstration of skill and athletic ability," Risai explained as Taiki sat eating steaming mushroom buns. "All the soldiers, officers and ministers who wish may take part. Ice skating is an important skill here in Tai. But it can be enjoyable too. Have you ever tried it yourself?"

"Not yet."

"Well, I suppose people might be a little anxious when it comes to teaching you something like this. One may injure oneself quite easily. That's what makes the displays so impressive."

Taiki blew a breath into the air to watch it crystallise. It made him think of dragons, and it was strange to be a creature on the same plane of legends.

The ice and the surrounding slopes of snow were hung with poles and bright flags and large paper lanterns of all colours. It was all very like a summer festival. How odd, he thought.

"What are those?" he asked, pointing to the tall poles dangling wooden circles like washing lines full of drying clothes.

"They're targets for the archers."

"You mean they fire arrows while on skates?"

"Yes – and they go very fast too. As I said, it's a test of skill – a way for the soldiers and the more athletic ministers to prove themselves to their superiors and earn favour with the king. Do you see them doing warm-up laps?"

She pointed one gloved hand. The skaters drifted anticlockwise in a large ring, gliding underneath the targets. Servants at the lake's edge were arranging racks of bows and quivers.

"Afterwards there'll be performing gymnasts and ice dancers. Then anyone who wants to may try their hand. It's always amusing to see some of the more stuffy old ministers flapping around in their houshi."

Taiki giggled, and looked out to the ice. "Master Gyousou's really good, isn't he?"

As if he had heard, the figure in black came swooping to the lake's edge, hair streaming out behind him, hatless. He stepped seamlessly onto land and came stomping through the snow on his blades.

"I'm not invited to this tea party?" he said, pushing windblown hair out of his eyes. His cheeks were coloured from the cold, and Taiki found the effect absorbing as his master crouched down in the snow in front of his chair.

"But Master Gyousou, you looked like you were having too much fun out there." He formally picked up the teapot on its porcelain tray. "Can I offer you a cup now?"

Gyousou took the delicate teacup in two large hands and bowed slightly before taking a sip. "As the king I'm not really allowed to take part in the archery show, in case I take the focus away from those who want to show off. I used to like testing myself when I was just a general. You're not cold out here, Kouri?"

"Not at all. Actually, I'm a little too hot with all these blankets."

Gyousou smiled. "You must forgive your maidservants their fussing, Kouri. You're very important to all of us. You have to remember to keep safe and warm and take care of yourself."

Taiki looked longingly out at the ice. The soldiers were out, carrying their banners. He could hear the flags flapping as the torchlight caught their colours.

"Do I have to sit here all evening? Can't I skate by myself, just a little?"

"I'm afraid not. I'll teach you to skate when it's quiet, one day. There are too many people on the ice tonight. You might be hurt by accident."

"One day?" Taiki tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He knew how busy his master was. Even though the king was so considerate and did so much to keep him happy, Taiki doubted that they're be time for him to learn ice-skating with Master Gyousou, not this winter.

Gyousou must have heard the sadness in his voice, or seen it in his face. He turned and looked at the warm-up exercises with a thoughtful look.

"It'll be some time before they begin," he said.

"Your Majesty? Is that really safe?" Risai asked, looking worried.

"Of course. I won't let him come to any harm. He won't even feel cold. That is, if Kouri would feel safe with me?"

Taiki wriggled out of his blankets with such enthusiasm, he almost knocked over the teapot. "Of course I do!" he said, holding out his arms.

Gyousou laughed, reaching out both hands and scooping Taiki from the sedan chair. Blankets fell from around his small body. Gyousou secured him in one strong arm and tugged Taiki's hood up around his face.

"Hold on tight," he said, ignoring the nervous chatter of the maidservants.

Taiki shifted up close to his master's chest and waved to Risai over one of Gyousou's broad shoulders. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm really very safe with Master Gyousou."

The ministers turned to look as Gyousou stepped onto the ice and began skating slowly around the edge. Taiki found himself swaying with the gentle motion.

"There probably won't be the time to teach you to do this properly, for a while," Gyousou said, eyes fixed ahead. "But I promise to make time for it, one day. I _promise_. If you stay warm and your toes don't freeze together."

Wrapped up like a cocoon in his master's arms, the frost biting at his nose and his breath rising in clouds, Taiki smiled. The ministers and soldiers parted like a school of fish as a target went by overhead. The torches made holes of fire in the night.

"What do you make of it? Your first taste of ice-skating?"

Taiki thought about it. "Master Gyousou?"

"Yes?"

"Can we go faster?"

He felt his master's laughter through his chest. "General Risai and your maidservants would never let me forget it if I did."

"Please?"

"Very well, then. Hold on tight."

Gyousou heaved him up onto his shoulder and leaned into the ice, bending his knees deeply and rocketing ahead. Taiki wrapped one arm and held onto his hood with the other. His yell of exhilaration was snatched back by the wind and mixed with winter bells.

* * *

They'd twisted fairy lights into the trees, Kaname duly noticed, as he clutched with one mittened hand the railing of the temporary ice rink. The sounds of the winter wonderland installed in this Tokyo park grated on his ears – teenage girls giggled shrilly as they blew on hot chocolate, the steam whirling up like spirits drifting up to heaven. Little children cried, shrieks blew over from the fairground rides and above it all, the tinny music from the stage where three girls bounced around in fur-lined skirts.

He sighed, warm breath escaping his mouth. He moved one foot forward, feeling it slide out beneath him. He grabbed the rail so he wouldn't fall. His feet hurt. They burned and ached.

His mother tottered past unevenly, holding his brother's hand in hers, face flushed with the cold and the exercise and smiling. His brother fell and she bent down to pick him up, dusting the ice chips off and straightening his hat.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him. Her face darkened.

"Kaname. I brought you all the way out here so we could all have fun together. Can't you at least try to join in?"

"My feet keep trying to run away," he explained, seizing the plastic wall again. "Maybe if I had someone to..."

"I can't leave your brother alone. He might get hurt."

"But-"

She sighed and shook her head. "Such a moody child. Would it really be so much trouble to engage with others?"

He lowered his head.

"I'm disappointed in you, Kaname. I try so hard to please you and you absolutely refuse to be happy."

She swept onwards, his brother laughing. He watched them go, then transferred his attention to a boy skating backwards, holding his girlfriend by the hands, the two of them almost flying over the ice. Her hair whipped around her face so nicely.

_I would like to know how that feels_, he thought wistfully, _it must be nice to fly_.

Determined not to be left marooned on the side, he placed one bladed foot in front of the other and managed to glide a short distance, until a little boy darted in front of him and knocked into his skate. Arms wheeling desperately, he felt himself fall for a small infinity until the ice came up and crashed into his nose, cold, rough with blade-marks, and hard. His palms stung where he'd thrown them out to break his fall. The beginnings of bruises were throbbing on his knees.

There was a wailing behind him. Nobody came to pick him up or help him to his feet. Wincing as the cold stung his scraped hands, he struggled to his knees and then onto the skates. Everyone was staring. He turned around.

"No!" the woman wailed as the safety wardens crowded around her. Her son was cradled in her arms, blood streaming from a deep gash in his forehead.

"I don't understand," one of the staff members muttered. "There's no way he could do that just by falling."

The red liquid spilled onto the ice, staining it, turning it pink like a slug trail as it ran towards him. Feeling his head spin, he lost his balance and fell onto his backside. He brought up his knees and pressed his head to them, sweat breaking out on his forehead and stomach churning.

A hand clamped itself onto Kaname's shoulder. He looked up and saw his mother's lips pressed so tightly together that they had turned white, like corpse lips.

"Move," she hissed. "Before anyone asks questions."

She towed him off the ice, pulled off his skates and shoved them at the man in the booth. She barely gave him even time to tie up his laces.

His feet felt strange in normal shoes. Too flat, somehow. As they left, his little brother howling, he looked back at the ice. Nobody was skating any more.

It was a shame, he thought, he would have liked to learn how to ice skate. If there had been someone who wouldn't mind teaching him how.

* * *

"That's the first time I've seen you smile for quite some time."

Taiki looked over his shoulder. "Is it? I'm sorry."

Gyousou frowned. "Don't apologise for being unhappy."

Taiki levelled a look at him from hair slowly growing out. His hands were folded into his sleeves. He dropped his eyes once his master met them.

"I never said I was unhappy," he said. "Just busy. There is so much to do."

"And little reprieve?" Gyousou looked up at the snow-blanketed hill. Through the dusting of flakes they could see the minister's children sledding and shrieking along with those of the servants. One sled came to a spinning stop, spilling the three boys into a laughing pile.

"Children play in such innocence," Gyousou remarked, face unreadable. "You used to be like that. A long time ago."

"Master Gyousou?"

He turned his red eyes downward, and smiled after looking at the younger man for a little while.

"Come, Kouri," he said.

Taiki blinked in confusion. He followed his master's gaze to the top of the hill.

"Surely you aren't suggesting..."

"Why not? If I remember correctly, the young Kouri would have pulled at my sleeve and begged until I rode down the hill with him. Then he would have made me do it all over again. And again."

"But-"

"This is the first time I've seen you smile in weeks."

Seizing his wrist in a firm yet gentle grip, Gyousou towed his kirin toward a group of young ladies building a snow rabbit, requesting a loan of their rather handsome sled.

Their footsteps crunched up the hill. "Look, Kouri. You can see both our palaces from here."

"I don't really remember how to do this." Taiki murmured, sitting tentatively on the front of the sled.

"Tell me, Kouri," Gyousou said, kneeling behind him. "Do you feel a little foolish?"

"To tell the truth, yes." He felt his cheeks warm as his master's warm bulk settled behind his back. He reached up to brush away a strand of hair and found Gyousou's hand holding his wrist again.

When he leaned in this close, Taiki could see snowflakes melting in his eyelashes.

"Let me see what I can do about that," Gyousou said, and wrapped Taiki in his arms, pulling him close.

"In case you fall off," Gyousou murmured, his breath warm upon Taiki's ear as he pushed off and the world slid.

After countless rides down the hill, Taiki wondered dimly at Gyousou not quite keeping his promise – indeed, his arms did keep Taiki from falling off the moving sled, or at least, they did until the sled slowed and they tumbled into the snow together.

Taiki looked into his master's face above him and smiled.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry? What for?" Gyousou's voice vibrated through his chest, really quite distracting.

"Growing up. It seems I was far more enjoyable company for Master Gyousou when I was small."

"I don't know about that," his master said, brushing snow from his kirin's cheek and letting the fingers remain longer than was strictly necessary. "I'm very pleased that you've grown up at last."

Taiki wondering if his shivering had anything at all to do with the cold.


End file.
